SWS survey: 3.3M households experience hunger

Ramdam na ramdam ang kagutoman sa ilalim ng rehimeng Arroyo. Gloria Arryo finds another alibi for her failures to improve the lives of the poor: blame the Wall Street financial crisis.

3.3M households experience hunger - latest SWS survey
10/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines - As many as 3.3 million households experienced hunger in the last three months, the BusinessWorld reported Monday quoting the Social Weather Stations' September survey results.

The BusinessWorld report said at 18.4% in September, the SWS’ measure is now six points above a 10-year hunger average of 12.3% and “the latest figure was also the highest in four quarters since September 2007’s record 21.5%."

Meanwhile, National Nutrition Council executive director Maria Bernardita T. Flores told BusinessWorld that higher commodity prices and typhoons had affected the ability of people to buy food.

"The people felt the impact of food and fuel price increases," she told the paper in a telephone interview. "Weather disturbances such as typhoon Frank [which hit in June] may have affected the supply of food in the market ... Weather affects the supply of food in the market and less supply leads to a higher price," she said.

The SWS’s face-to-face interviews was conducted from September 24 to 27 involving 1,500 household heads nationwide.

It asked: "Nitong nakaraang tatlong buwan, nang-yari po ba kahit minsan na ang inyong pamilya ay nakaranas ng gutom at wala kayong makain? Kung oo: nangyari po ba ’yan ng minsan lamang, mga ilang beses, madalas, o palagi? (In the past three months, was there an instance when your family experienced hunger or had nothing to eat? If yes, did it happen only once, a few times, often, or always?)"

The report said: “Total hunger went up two points from June’s 16.3%, due to moderate hunger rising to 15.2% from 12.1% previously. The moderate hunger result, which included those who did not state their frequency of hunger, is equivalent to some 2.7 million families and is six points above the ten-year average.

“Severe hunger, meanwhile, fell to 3.2% (about 580,000 families) from 4.2% (about 760,000 families) in June, a rate equal to the ten-year average."

The report added that Metro Manila had the highest proportion of families which experienced hunger, at 23% (560,000 families). Next was Luzon at 20% (1.6 million families). Luzon was also where hunger rose the furthest, by eight points, from June’s 12.3%. In Mindanao it was up slightly at 18.3% (750,000 families) but was down eight points in the Visayas to 11.7% (420,000 families).

Visit BusinessWorld online (http://www.bworldonline.com/BW102008/content.php?id=001) for the complete story. - GMANews.TV